1. Field
Embodiments relate to a method for estimating a connection order of modules in a robot including the modules each having a joint as a basic unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a mechanical device which performs motion similar to that of a human using an electrical or magnetic mechanism is called a robot. Recently, with advances in sensor and controller technology, the robot has been utilized in various fields. For example, there are a household robot, a guide robot of a public place, a transportation robot of a manufacturing plant and an operator assisting robot. Such a robot performs an operation using a manipulator which moves similar to an operation of a human arm or hand by an electrical/mechanical mechanism.
Most manipulators which are currently being used are configured by connecting several links. A connection between links is referred to as a joint and the joint includes a motor to drive the joint.
In the case of a link robot, a robot (hereinafter, referred to as a modular robot), the structure of which is appropriately changed or reconfigured by connecting modules each having a movable joint as a basic unit according to necessary functions, has been developed.
A modular robot may be reconfigured in a variety of ways. Since parts may be freely replaced, convenience and usability are increased. In such a modular robot, since a device and a joint are connected by hardware and a device and a program are connected by software, a degree of freedom of the connection is secured using a method of assigning a unique ID to each device and storing a connection relationship between joints and devices. However, in such a method, different IDs are assigned to all devices and firmware varies according to devices. When a problem occurs, it is necessary to reconstruct the firmware in order to replace the firmware between devices. If a user is not aware of a connection relationship between joints and devices, a robot joint may not be controlled.